• Closed • [Krome] Runt of the Litter

[Vincent Krome]

25th of Saun, after dusk.

The darkness of early night was beginning to crawl across the Northern Krome House, when Vince arrived by foot. He kept well out of sight while on the road, travelling through the brush. The sound of his footfalls mixed with the natural noises of the grounds, striking an anti-rhythmic ambience, like those any meandering animals might make. An owl made it's inquiries to the air of night, as Vince sidled up to the wall of brush, which gave way to a spacious and open lawn, and then the Northern Krome Manor. As he peered beyond the foilage, he considered the house's size. It seemed smaller than he remembered.

He didn't know if there were any guards, retainers, or slaves keeping watch this night. It'd been a while since he'd visited the old place. The only news he'd caught was that there was a new lady in line to inherit the house, and Vince wanted to pay his respects.

To do so, however, he couldn't resist the desire to surprise them all. It wouldn't necessarily be a pleasant surprise, with he not exactly being the favorite son of House Krome, but he couldn't wait to see their faces when he crept out of the woodwork. Or else was brought in kicking and cursing by some retainer or another, only to be identified as the last born of Sophia and Jersey. The idea of trespassing and possibly sneaking into the manor was as much a test of his skills as it was an opportunity for mischief.

He slipped past the boundary the shrubberies presented, and kept close to them after making the passage, watching the grounds for any signs of movement.

Inward he cursed, when he spotted Bolrick working at the soil of the garden, while chatting with Badon. Badon's eyes crept along the landscape as he spoke solemnly to the gardener. Vince cringed when they roved over him, but breathed a silent sigh of relief when they continued to roam. Finally, they settled on watching the path ahead of him, Badon's arms clasped behind his back.

Badon had always stuck in Vince's craw when he was growing up. Always loyal and one to cling to Xander, he didn't trust that old slave. Nor did he dare move into his perceived field of vision as he crept up on the house.

Vince slowly crept up toward the manor. He could see the window on the upper level that led to his old room, though what it was used for now was a matter for speculation. Vince glanced twice more toward the edge of the garden, where Badon was standing. On the second glance, he couldn't spot the butler.

This all but assured him that he would be able to enter. Even if Badon spotted him by now and was coming for him, his poor old joints probably couldn't handle the climb Vince was about to scale himself. The runt of Krome allowed himself a smirk as his hands reached out to find familiar handholds. It was then he felt the cold, clammy grasp of three fingers on his right ear, and a sudden tug.

"Well," Said Badon, as he dragged the noble thief around the wall and through the garden, leading him toward the front door. "If it isn't little Lord Vincent, come to inspect the grounds. I sincerely hope you had a pleasant journey, on your way here."

[Velaine Krome]

Ever since the fire, Velaine’s world had become maddening. Panicked citizens were still reeling back from the destruction and she had to direct most of their manpower into rebuilding what was lost – even some of her house slaves. Farms and homes were left into nothing but blackened ruins. This meant that she had quite a few of her villagers homeless and demanding for help from their baron. Jersey Krome, of course, had little care about the state of things, claiming that the filthy poor should figure out their own problems. Not a very sound plan, of course. This meant Velaine had to deal with the villagers instead.

The young woman had spent most of the day traveling across their barony, trying to account just how much they lost and how many people were displaced from their homes. Their land was never known for farming and now with what little they had damaged, their food supply was going to suffer. Krome was already drained of their gold for importing from Venora, the last thing they needed to do was buy more food.

With that weighing in her mind, the young Krome had traveled back to her home, trying to figure out some solutions. As she glanced out the window to muse, Velaine spotted something that sparked her interest. Two male figures were walking up onto the front porch, one clearly dragging the other by the ear. The sky was darkening and it was difficult at first for her to recognize who it was. It was an amusing sight nevertheless and Velaine found herself smiling despite her exhaustion as her carriage approached.

She figured it was perhaps a young servant being scolded for some sort of mistake. But then as her ride stopped in front of the house, the young woman was greeted by an unexpected sight.

Velaine blinked in surprise as she took in the familiar features of her little brother. The young woman did not know he was visiting. She had not seen him for five arcs and when she returned, it turned out he had left their manor for the past few arcs and nobody had heard from him. The female Krome had wondered what Vincent did to anger their parents so, but made no further inquiries. Looking for him was also the last thing on her mind, to be honest, having been shoved with responsibilities of the household a mere few trials after her arrival.

As she descended down her carriage, the young woman cleared her throat lightly in an effort to catch the men’s attention. The strong wind whipped her curled brown hair into the air – it seemed like a storm might be coming. While it may bother most noblewomen, Velaine stood comfortably with her face lifted proudly into the air. As a Defier, she had always been particularly fond of the winds.

“Vincent, I see you have finally decided to grace us with your presence,” the young woman called out loudly as she walked toward her brother. “I’ve missed you, you know. Imagine my surprise when father told me that you were kicked out of our dear home.”

[Xander Andaris]

Xander did not come home often any more but with the return on his sister he supposed it was important he make sure she had no issues with readjusting and taking over from him with his job. Alongside this had come the fires and his father and mother were certainly unlikely to act on it so he was there just to check in on the land that was still so dear to him.

So he was home and oddly he had been the only one of the three siblings to already be in the house when the evening's events unfolded. That was also the reason Badon was present, since Xander moved down to Andaris he had moved with him but he was there with him now.

So as Xander heard a carriage arriving he went to the door only to find not one but two of his siblings, one who he barely recognised any more. His younger brother, for all the mischief he had enacted as children and all the arguments they had had was barely recognisable. Yet, he was his brother all the same and Xander chuckled out loud to see him already in trouble.

"Come now Badon, let him be would you." Xander stepped out of the doorway and into the cool evening air, it felt much cooler and clean than the southern air. He smiled and walked over towards his brother, one he had never gotten on with in childhood but Xander was nothing but changed and perhaps the youngest son was too. "It is good to see you again brother." He extended his hand out to the much smaller man with a hopes that he was in a forgivable mood too.

He noted Velaine's presence and flashed her a smile, he hoped she would be continuing the good will which their last meeting had entailed. After all, he was seeking the forgiveness and friendship of both his siblings, especially his sister who he would see sitting in Krome's Ducal seat.

[Vincent Krome]

Sorry for the absence, I'm just posting in case you guys want to carry on with this thread, if so great, if not that's okay too. Either way, sorry for disappearing.

OOC

Vin rubbed his right ear after Badon removed his grip on it. This wasn't the way he wanted to return to his family, being brought in as an intruder. It would've been much more fun to 'haunt' the house for a while, causing all manner of chaos with nobody the wiser to his presence. Of course, he often had underestimated the devoted slave/guardian of Xander, Badon.

He winced as he was brought before his two remaining siblings, hat in hand as it were. When Xander reached out a hand to shake his hand, he was surprised. Not that he really knew what to expect. His last prominent memory of their childhood together, before Xander became less accessible, was of himself telling Xander that he'd caused the death of Zara.

Vin looked at his hand and then toward the inscrutable smile on his brother's face, and back again. FInally he took his hand with informal flair, and shook it. "Well, i..." Vin's words caught in his throat, and he shook himself out of his momentary daze. "It's good to see you both. I didn't expect to see you here Xander..."

"And Velaine," He smirked widely, "I half expected you to be foisted off on a lord as old as he is fat by now or vice versa! How's the luck going in that regard?"

As Vin released Xander's handshake, he spread his arms wide to embrace his sister, approaching slowly. "It's so wonderful to see you both, jests aside, I hope you're doing well, truly."